Special plane to bring back Indians from Egypt

New Delhi, Jan 30 (IANS) India is sending a special commercial flight Sunday to bring back Indians wanting to return home from Egypt that is in the middle of a political upheaval. An Air India flight with a capacity to carry 300-odd passengers is being sent to Cairo to enable Indians living in or visiting Egypt to return to India if they desired so, government sources said here.

Some of the 3,600-odd Indians, who live in Egypt that is facing political unrest at present, have expressed their interest in returning home and the flight is arranged based on their request, the source said.

Flight schedules in and out of Egypt have been disrupted in the last couple of days after anti-government protests broke out there seeking the stepping down of President Hosni Mubarak, who has been in power for over three decades now.

Due to the disruption in flights, the Indian government took a decision to send a commercial aircraft to Cairo to ferry Indians back home if they desired so, the sources said, noting that of the 3,600 Indians in Egypt, 2,200 are residents of Cairo.

The chartered flight will leave for Cairo Sunday and will return late in the night with about 300 passengers, which would include some tourists, businessmen and Indian embassy staff members.

On Saturday, the external affairs ministry issued an advisory asking Indians to avoid all non-essential travel to Egypt. It also noted that its embassy in Cairo was in touch with the Indians living there and they were safe.